Grow: First Steps with JesusSample

THE LOVING FATHER

Luke was one of the early followers of Jesus and he recorded a story told by Jesus. Jesus shows us the character of God and also reveals something of our own human story. 

Luke 15:11-24: Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Why do I say that this reveals the character of God and tells us something of the human story? Each of us has something of the prodigal son in us, because we also sometimes choose our own path and seek to satisfy our own selfish needs.  

This story is probably more about the waiting Father than the prodigal son. Do you realize that the Father of creation—who designed everything—is filled with compassion for every human who has gone astray? He is waiting for every human who got lost in their own desires to simply turn back to Him.

He wants to reconcile us to Him and restore the relationship between us. He is not locked onto our sins and mistakes only. When we come to Him he welcomes us with open arms: “My son was lost, but now he’s found.” 

We may feel—like the son in the story—that our mistakes disqualify us from His love, but the Father looks beyond our mistakes and declares: "You are my son!" He fully restores relationship with us and then from that platform of acceptance, He continues to cleanse us and redeem us from our past. Only then does He start to restore us to our full stature.

We have a loving Father who addresses all our mistakes through His love for us.

Daily Affirmation: “Father in Heaven, thank you that I can have a personal relationship with You.”

Action Step for Today: List some of the things in your past that you thought would cause the loving Father to reject you and then draw a line through them as you declare that nothing is bigger than His love for you.